Sharing slices with the environmental studies program

On Monday, Sept. 9, the environmental studies faculty organized a meet-and-greet in McHugh Hall for students of the major, and for anyone else interested, to talk to faculty or just relax in-between classes with the pizza and beverages provided. The casual get-together fostered plenty of conversations between students and faculty about the major, their classes and how their semesters were going in general. 

The event was helpful for students of the major to attend considering program director Thomas Bontly, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Coordinator Sara Tremblay were in attendance. Both were very knowledgeable about the major and the students in the program and welcomed those not enrolled in the major to the event with open arms. 

The major revolves around how people and the environment are connected, both affecting each other, though aspects of varying majors including English, psychology and economics are covered. Students are tasked with learning about humanities, social sciences and natural sciences and their relation to the environment, a variety of important subjects to be informed on for the young student body as a whole. The environmental studies program is fairly new, coming to fruition in 2012 based on the environmental science program. Both programs are open to students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as well as the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. 

This cross-college approach is a rarity among the majors offered at the University of Connecticut, since environmental studies and environmental science are two out of the three cross-college majors at the university. This represents how versatile the majors are and how flexible the faculty is in working with students from different colleges. 

Students’ future career prospects when majoring in environmental studies are plentiful. Some specific interests include working in environmental law, helping nonprofit organizations and pursuing a career in journalism; the latter of which may strike a chord with members and readers of The Daily Campus.  

As with the “Good Food and Good Climate News” event I covered last year, the topics of this program will only grow more important as time progresses, so it’s reassuring to know the faculty of UConn’s environmental studies program care greatly about their students’ education, giving its future leaders the skills necessary to empower themselves and protect the environment. 

Bontly shared the sentiment that for interdisciplinary programs such as environmental studies, it can be “much harder to build a cohort because interdisciplinary programs don’t have a physical footprint.” Along with putting on events like this meet-and-greet, the faculty is also interested in actively improving the program by creating a student advisory board. Bontly believes the board, which will consist of environmental studies students, some of which went to this event, will provide a “constant voice of ‘What do we need more of?’” within the program. 

Hannah, a seventh-semester environmental studies major within the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, commented about the event: “I feel like it’s a great way to meet people in the major.” She mentioned that besides bumping into someone who shares a class with her, it’s challenging to connect with students also majoring in environmental studies, and this meet-and-greet certainly helped her bond with other environmental studies students outside of classes.